1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of flexible tubes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tubes are known which are provided with a lid associated with a perforating cap comprising a punch adapted in order to perforate the lid when the cap is inserted in a first direction into the neck of the tube, and in order to be screwed onto the neck when it is positioned in a second direction on the neck of the tube.
In fact the lid makes it possible to keep the product contained in the tube sealed during its storage prior to its first use, which represents a very significant part of the overall service life of the tube.
However, such solutions are not very practical and not greatly appreciated by users. They also lead to having a tube with a punch which projects from its cap during its use and its storage, and a pushing force is required in order to pierce the lid with the aid of the punch of the cap.
In order to remedy these drawbacks, solutions have been proposed in which the punch is disposed in the cap in such a way as to be able to perforate the lid when the cap is screwed onto the tube head. However, in order to ensure the preservation of the lid prior to the first use, a spacing ring is disposed between the cap and the shoulder of the head of the tube, so as to keep the punch spaced apart from the lid when the cap is screwed onto the neck.
However, such solutions are very restrictive industrially in that they necessitate the positioning of a plurality of parts on the tube head, the ring and the cap being commonly formed from two separate parts.
It has likewise been proposed to produce the cap and the ring integrally formed in one piece, these two elements thus being linked by material bridges adapted to be broken by screwing or unscrewing of the cap. However, the positioning of the cap on the tube head by machine then requires extreme precision in order not to break the material bridges systematically during capping, making this solution impracticable.